From your makeup kit, highlighters could be your best friend if you know how to master them. Here’s how to choose the right type of highlighter that’s meant for your skin once and for all!
Although the most sought out skincare routine is the key to good skin, highlighters can updo your makeup game. Just some dabs can instantly brighten skin by attracting light, creating the illusion of being well-rested.
But what about summers? When the humidity levels soar up, your highlighter can get in the way of giving you that healthy glow that you scored while applying. We love highlighters all year long, don’t we? So, how do we create a middle ground that makes our skin dewy and radiant in the summers too?
“Because they add glow and radiance to the skin, highlighters are a favourite. However, in the summer, we like to change things up to make the most of our tans”, says professional makeup artist Gitanshi Dua who does have a few tricks for getting the product to stay put, enhance your complexion’s glow, the right highlighters meant for your skin rather than just making you look sweatier.
What Type Of Highlighters Should You Choose? – Makeup
With great variations of highlighters, you might be in a fix on selecting the right one. Not just that, the key to getting that just-right luminous sheen is knowing which formulas to use based on your skin type and what areas on the face to stay away from. Gitanshi gives a full lowdown which highlighters to choose considering your skin type too –
Strobe Cream
“This is used to give the skin a dewy appearance and to add sheen to the entire face. It improves the appearance of dull skin. By far, the best strobe cream is Mac’s. This formula hydrates your face and gives it the softest glow. It is not recommended for oily skin.”
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Stick Highlighter
“This is a shimmery stick that you can use as a crayon on the areas you want to highlight and then easily blend. This one is suitable for all skin types and is simple to apply thanks to its stick form. The shimmery formula contains micro-fine pearls, which work together to enhance the skin’s radiance.”
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Powder Highlighter
“My all-time favourite and the best for all skin types. Powder highlighter comes as a pressed powder in a pan used with a fan brush to give you the ultimate glow.”
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Liquid Highlighter
“Apply 2-3 drops of this highlighter and blend with a blender or your finger. Avoid using this on oily skin. You can even apply the liquid highlighter to your skin before applying your foundation, giving you a glowing appearance right away.”
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Which Highlighters Suit My Skin Tone? – Makeup
Many times, these shades needed to be selected that best works with our skin tone and even the seasons. “In summers we tend to have the perfect tanned body so I would recommend champagne sheen highlighters, golds or rose golds highlighter.” Gitanshi weighs in.
We cannot recall the number of times we’ve tried a highly-raved highlighter with high hopes, only to find it not balancing with our skin tone. She shares with us an easy guide-
If you have fair to light skin
“Choose highlighters with a pearlescent, icy silver, or champagne sheen. The light pigment adds just the right amount of radiance to your complexion. You should also avoid shades that are too warm or have dark red undertones and instead look for shades that have a light pinky-peach finish.”
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If you have a warmer/medium skin tone
“A highlighter with a gold-bronze or champagne undertone will keep your complexion from looking too frosty.”
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If you have a dark complexion
“Rich variations of rose gold or bronze work wonders. Just make sure to look for options with a lot of pigment and avoid frosty, opalescent shades, which can make the skin appear dull instead of lit-from-within.”
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The Key Takeaways While Applying Highlighter – Makeup
The key is to feel as good as you can shining bright with that highlighter glow that you can’t stop raving about. But many times even with great products, it’s hard only to find it look rather lacklustre. “If you are blending your highlighter (liquid or cream) with a blender, use a different one and then clean it before using it again because blenders absorb the product so if you use the same blender and dab it anywhere on the skin, you will make a patch over there,” she recommends.
When it comes to using a highlighter, it can be pretty easy to go overboard and at times, you may only use on those areas where your skills can give a luminous look, “Stick to the high points of your face for the most natural-looking highlight. Your high points are the areas of your face where light naturally hits, such as the tops of your cheekbones, brow bones, Cupid’s bow (that little dip above the centre of your top lip), and the bridge of your nose.” she adds.
On the other hand, pulling out the brushes and risking a chalky, streaky finish is not an idea of a good time. Whether you want to brighten all over the face or add just a little pizazz to your cheekbones, you must also know what areas on the face to stay away from. “For the nose, use a thin brush or a fan brush to avoid putting extra on areas where we don’t need it.” she advises.
